tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66709353013134889422024-03-05T18:07:15.743-05:00Nature / WritingPersonal blog of Canadian writer Marilyn Anne Campbell. Posts about writing, nature, pets, daily life, and what-have-you.Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-70422920789328594102021-04-21T19:25:00.000-04:002021-04-21T19:25:01.494-04:00Remaking Old Magic with a Little Toothpaste and Elbow Grease<p>When I was a kid, one of my favourite chores was polishing silverware. I can't say how many times I was asked to do it, though it couldn't have been very many. Most of the time the good silverware lived in a heavy wooden chest on the top shelf of the hall closet, waiting patiently for a few holiday dinners a year. But every once in awhile it would be brought down and placed on the big table on an otherwise unremarkable Saturday, and I would be set up with a little blue tin of silver polish and a soft white cloth. I would methodically work my way through the curious array of oversized spoons and undersized forks and oddly shaped knives, genuinely enjoying myself. I wish I could say my pleasure came from being able to contribute to family celebrations, but the truth is that I just really liked watching the tarnish disappear beneath my fingers. It didn't feel like cleaning; it felt like I was conducting a ceremony to remove a curse. </p><p>It felt like magic.</p><p>Decades later, I don't keep a silver chest in my own home. But when my mom moved a few months ago, I ended up with two silver... goblets? Flutes? Chalices? I don't know how different cup shapes are defined. Whatever they're called, they'd never been part of my polishing duties as a youth. But they were definitely in need of a little shining up now. </p><p>I was excited to be on polish duty again, but I wasn't excited about the idea of the silver polish itself. In the years that have passed, much of the world and I have learned a lot more about how our everyday actions impact the environment. The thick smelly liquid I remembered no longer seemed like the best choice for the job. So I asked the internet for silver polish alternatives and found that toothpaste was on the list. Something that I put in my mouth twice a day already? Sounded good and non-toxic to me.</p><p>Sadly, I didn't think to take a true before shot, but here's an "in between" shot, after I'd cleaned the first cup but not started on the second:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNb-fM4OoBj7czqOs23RFHfCvnNOOGWfHJSNOeKFcU7Ygh7RV8zFZZTnm2i4q_xnhOIMq5dFsxv-_BZEu_rmGbEnALv9n1XRQUz1OcVU_WbGvfBZGcMts17VdkeZdKUpadt9zhyphenhyphenxpCmFi6/s2048/P2560420_crop_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two silver cups sit side by side on a bathroom counter. One is heavily tarnished, the other is bright and shiny." border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1627" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNb-fM4OoBj7czqOs23RFHfCvnNOOGWfHJSNOeKFcU7Ygh7RV8zFZZTnm2i4q_xnhOIMq5dFsxv-_BZEu_rmGbEnALv9n1XRQUz1OcVU_WbGvfBZGcMts17VdkeZdKUpadt9zhyphenhyphenxpCmFi6/w509-h640/P2560420_crop_sm.jpg" width="509" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was once again making magic, only this time it was minty fresh:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGTpBws9dy0XBqKT9F27a2YOtgvsPN2IF5lVCqT54I4L8W3cofdcrE3Yt4h_9kmAuysENr95qOT1BXcn6T_zhfjgqRGTx_QNaMiOGGyeoRLkD6i_UpC7ygWR2V54t1umajhYhfxZmSZ9x/s2048/P2560443-edit_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A tarnished silver cup, covered in white paste. A hand with a cloth is wiping away some of the paste, revealing bright silver beneath." border="0" data-original-height="1810" data-original-width="2048" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGTpBws9dy0XBqKT9F27a2YOtgvsPN2IF5lVCqT54I4L8W3cofdcrE3Yt4h_9kmAuysENr95qOT1BXcn6T_zhfjgqRGTx_QNaMiOGGyeoRLkD6i_UpC7ygWR2V54t1umajhYhfxZmSZ9x/w640-h566/P2560443-edit_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The article was very particular that the toothpaste had to be true paste and not the gel kind. It's important to have the right ingredients for the spell.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzukJpOS9ML2NRsrEfzAvKTykskaFfzQy1iYrhLgAZmTqCGm186xipF3ROESPLhd1MUjAkDPMW9y8cmR0k_uZGylSyYvykmRFM1J7haM15_E2rGxMk_V80xsnUqkFAfi3DpaEerUcmuyC/s2036/P2560454-edit_sm.jpg"><img alt="The tarnished base of a silver cup with paste spread on it. In one small section, the paste has been wiped off revealing bright silver beneath." border="0" data-original-height="1964" data-original-width="2036" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNzukJpOS9ML2NRsrEfzAvKTykskaFfzQy1iYrhLgAZmTqCGm186xipF3ROESPLhd1MUjAkDPMW9y8cmR0k_uZGylSyYvykmRFM1J7haM15_E2rGxMk_V80xsnUqkFAfi3DpaEerUcmuyC/w640-h618/P2560454-edit_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ta da! </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFSLFbkZ11wUcMMj40P17s3ssqPxfpnQRefDborQCQmZrwj7p4DD5nyENVjZq6M2XE5xrujSuoPZac7-6Aj8FZlxjRzSsOZGwUUqUT-bljfPY4VaqYVlfuWNUugqB6ubFqeYt65B96HW-/s1999/P2560461-edit_sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two freshly polished shiny silver cups lay next to each other on a blue placemat." border="0" data-original-height="1999" data-original-width="1999" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRFSLFbkZ11wUcMMj40P17s3ssqPxfpnQRefDborQCQmZrwj7p4DD5nyENVjZq6M2XE5xrujSuoPZac7-6Aj8FZlxjRzSsOZGwUUqUT-bljfPY4VaqYVlfuWNUugqB6ubFqeYt65B96HW-/w640-h640/P2560461-edit_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Now I just need to figure put what our our shiny goblet-chalice-flute-cups are actually called, and decide what suitably magical thing they should hold in their new home on our bookshelf. Suggestions on both fronts are welcome. </p>Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-4611101164986344382021-04-15T20:32:00.003-04:002021-04-16T09:37:15.855-04:00Streaking for Citizen Science Month<p> ... eBird streaking that is.</p><p>Along with being Earth Month, April is also <a href="https://scistarter.org/citizensciencemonth" target="_blank">Citizen Science Month</a>. Citizen science is an umbrella term that covers a wide array of activities, but what they all have in common is that they provide ways for non-professionals to contribute in some way to scientific research and discovery.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFAZ5-Cs3nSUERoKVdErca6_zRrZ2GzcEnSiZrwU-zoqt7u4SIo1TbcKWqhrP1_tymQUxuLC-r25B1tj_-PmeM3ZQ8aQ68Av1V0w60baApXorNVKmkaBUWoCVwOBZjyDIboYbCLO8Hj1A/s500/CitSciMonth2021_500x.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Logo for Citizen Science Month April 2021" border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="500" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwFAZ5-Cs3nSUERoKVdErca6_zRrZ2GzcEnSiZrwU-zoqt7u4SIo1TbcKWqhrP1_tymQUxuLC-r25B1tj_-PmeM3ZQ8aQ68Av1V0w60baApXorNVKmkaBUWoCVwOBZjyDIboYbCLO8Hj1A/w320-h205/CitSciMonth2021_500x.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>There are two ongoing data collection projects I try to contribute to regularly; iNaturalist and eBird. </p><p>iNaturalist is focused on observations of individual wild organisms (you can explore mine through <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/people/1064211" target="_blank">my iNaturalist profile</a>), while eBird is a survey-style project based on observing all of the birds in a given area at a given time.</p><p>Although I signed up with eBird about a year and a half before I joined iNaturalist, in recent years I've been using iNat (as the cool kids call it) far more often. But in honour of Citizen Science Month I'm currently trying to make up for that with a little bit of healthy self-competition:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfaJucC7WVz_0KekCgpUd3bpl0LL9x47DWLzJKSsNsuv_yA4H50MF1wPI_0nN-DQSbTfRjcUn_fYMI_qHG0xaQjsR8dhOkODtEZE7klInn6gNgLFRqWR_PTiuz4dAUS9czKk_Q_e2mQjc/s804/ebird15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="613" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfaJucC7WVz_0KekCgpUd3bpl0LL9x47DWLzJKSsNsuv_yA4H50MF1wPI_0nN-DQSbTfRjcUn_fYMI_qHG0xaQjsR8dhOkODtEZE7klInn6gNgLFRqWR_PTiuz4dAUS9czKk_Q_e2mQjc/s320/ebird15.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div>eBird keeps track of <b>the most days in a row</b> that you've counted the birds. Until very recently my longest streak was six days. But then <a href="https://twitter.com/Shumpgullion/status/1371465278740172803" target="_blank">in March I got up to 17 days</a> before I got distracted on a Saturday and forgot. <div><br /></div><div>The start of April seemed like the perfect time to kick off a try for a longer streak, and as of April 15 I'm successfully on day 15 with hopes to at least go the full 30 days to round out the month. </div><div><br /></div><div>Part of what's making this doable is that eBird allows for <b>stationary birding</b>, which can include looking (and ideally listening) out a window. That's been the bulk of the 15 days of lists so far<span style="color: #3b3e4d; font-family: AkkuratPro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">—</span>I spend 20 minutes most mornings counting the house sparrows and robins and crows I can see out on the street.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Though there was one proper, in-the-park bird walk, which included this fun sighting:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"></p><div style="text-align: center;">Not great photos, but I do love this Ruby-crowned kinglet's attitude.</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Also, kinglets are in town!)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PunkBird?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PunkBird</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Birds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Birds</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpringMigration?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SpringMigration</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TorontoWildlife?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TorontoWildlife</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CitizenScience?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CitizenScience</a> (recorded on iNaturalist & eBird) <a href="https://t.co/7mUDkOXN57">pic.twitter.com/7mUDkOXN57</a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;">— Marilyn Campbell (@Shumpgullion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Shumpgullion/status/1382141456765358085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2021</a></div></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><h2 style="text-align: left;">More:</h2><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Interested in trying <a href="https://ebird.org/" target="_blank">eBird</a> yourself? Check out the <b>free</b> Cornell Bird Academy online course, <a href="https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/product/ebird-essentials/">Getting Started with eBird</a></li><li>You can also read an interesting perspective on <a href="https://www.aba.org/how-to-know-the-birds-no-44-how-ebird-killed-birding/" target="_blank">how using eBird can change the way people go birding</a>, from the guy with the longest eBird streak I know of (over 5,125 days and counting)</li></ul><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Are you a bird watcher? Have you ever participated in citizen science? Would you like to?</i></div><p></p></div>Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-77535873105351220832021-04-11T16:45:00.000-04:002021-04-11T16:45:42.741-04:00Sketches are Back with a Sturgeon<p>Sometimes I find an activity I really enjoy; one that makes my day or week or month measurably better.</p><p>Sometimes I get distracted or fall into old routines and drift away from that activity for no particular reason.</p><p>And so it was with the #SundayFishSketch, which <a href="http://marilynannecampbell.blogspot.com/2020/05/fish-sketch.html" target="_blank">I was really loving about a year ago</a>, and then three months later I just... stopped.</p><p>But this morning I ate some cinnamon buns and drew a Lake Sturgeon, as one should:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBwQwv4TTFnXDpslqTvIVumlKtPzLjc0Va198HTkSkob9CNyBPN4EuXWJAjpzxY2OU6Pgqxa9JP30Pg2Ol557NmdloX0oj2toqlI7ojR4awO2uN4Z4SijX0pCrvePJRPuzVPov2kaOeDu/s4608/P2560247_edit-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGBwQwv4TTFnXDpslqTvIVumlKtPzLjc0Va198HTkSkob9CNyBPN4EuXWJAjpzxY2OU6Pgqxa9JP30Pg2Ol557NmdloX0oj2toqlI7ojR4awO2uN4Z4SijX0pCrvePJRPuzVPov2kaOeDu/w400-h267/P2560247_edit-full.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> I hope you are also enjoying life's simple pleasures, fish-based or otherwise.<p></p>Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-73546662626865481852020-12-29T16:53:00.003-05:002020-12-29T22:43:08.264-05:00Compositions from the Kitchen - The Return of Magnetic Poetry <p>My mother gave Magnetic Poetry Kits to both Steve and I for Christmas. Mine was nature themed and Steve's was for haikus, but since the haiku set was full of nature words as well, we decided to amalgamate them into a single mega-set. Behold!</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Magnetic Poetry Kits - Nature & Haiku"><img alt="Boxes from two Magnetic Poetry Kits - Nature & Haiku - sit on a kitchen counter with a container full of word magnets between them." height="333" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50776615346_ced591270f.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<p><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></p>
<p>I actually had an original Magnetic Poetry Kit and a Shakespearean bonus set when I was young (also gifts from my mother). I don't recall how often I used them as a tween/teenager, though I seem to recall that I would compose one short work and leave it on the fridge for months on end. Which really fails to embrace the inherent strengths of the medium, I think. So will the same thing happen again? Only time will tell. But for now, here is a first foray into my career as an adult fridge poet:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a data-flickr-embed="true" title="Magnet Poem - Listen to Lichen"><img alt="Magnetic poem on a fridge, text below" height="333" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50776613186_7d9e685c4b.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<p><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script></p>
<p>Listen to Lichen</p>
<p>Listen to lichen<br />Smile at seeds<br />Make friends with a mushroom<br />Walk with the weeds.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">ART! </p><p style="text-align: left;">(I will have to give up on rhyming pretty quick. There just aren't that many options)</p></div>Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-55362212671180031782020-10-04T14:59:00.002-04:002020-12-27T21:29:34.781-05:00Writing News: "A Warmer World" receives a Toronto Arts Council Playwrights Grant<p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Toronto Arts Council logo with text funded by the City of Toronto" border="0" data-original-height="105" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg78WQrFo9yFFKjmJiLPX457ob-UGvBAzNKRdEvl2rur3pS2fC-LzGF-rJ3Kf_l3-r8rLuZgePRRxUVvvYl3WitlerMYESh22CMgU6TxqvPeRFukkwJjVWWMilhqQxp-UmbRyIcZCgEVjDk/s16000/TAC-FCT_clr_CMYK_lrg.webp" /></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">I'm pleased to announce that one of my works-in-progress has been chosen for an 'Individual - Playwrights' grant from the Toronto Arts Council. I'm particularly excited about this because "A Warmer World" brings together two of the things I care most about—writing for young audiences and the environment.</p><p style="text-align: left;">As I described it in my grant application:</p><blockquote>"A Warmer World" is a versatile episodic play for young audiences about our current ecological crisis, which explores the issues, the potential impacts, and the personal actions we can take around climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. The play consists of monologues and short scenes featuring primarily teen and tween characters, and is designed to be suitable both for a professional TYA company to present as a full-length show with a small cast playing multiple roles, or for a school to perform itself with flexibility in cast size and length. If presented in full, "A Warmer World" is expected to run approximately seventy minutes without intermission and offer a mix of styles of both comedy and drama.</blockquote><p>Some of the parts are already in a first draft and some are still in the idea stage, but over the next two months I will focus on writing and revising "A Warmer World", with a goal to have it ready for outside eyes at the end of November or early December. </p><p>(If you're a high school teacher who thinks having your students be part of a development process could be a great learning opportunity, I may have an idea for after your winter break...)</p><p>Thank you to the City of Toronto and the Toronto Arts Council for the support. </p><p>Learn more on the project page of my new* writing website: </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/a-warmer-world" target="_blank">A Warmer World</a></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>*Which is a post for another day </p>Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-9229431258189287422020-08-08T18:45:00.002-04:002020-08-08T18:45:59.579-04:00Why Our Chairs Wear Socks<p>These two floofs right here. They are the reason the chairs in our house wear socks. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzLO2te2JGjlYqYfpHXO7iUlaUY_uXjkEG1uGObkjMqF4lHIsa4pg7bAKlXyOzqsS3_wUWRnFCJnJRa1W6tR0IRNEnHCuqVhmJyLkJaw-IZ1a4nBiNJndtwmXvb8a00SiJ32kpx7zHehy/s762/legs.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="Two tabby and white cats lay side by side" border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="922" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNxnofE1itBqdM5stpaq9cQlxqMmLFpLESmwlTvhgZgfUTsUd9reS2GHohUCCi16RCRLNPnXdCNlbYiG663vDV-8JWqdQe2TNojgK9h7xCAx4nvTwvo3sN2mAJHfWuXXvPfFBsPl0that/w640-h426/P2460484-small.JPG" width="640" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>Several layers of thick socks, in fact. Below is what I recently did to the wooden legs of an ottoman:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzLO2te2JGjlYqYfpHXO7iUlaUY_uXjkEG1uGObkjMqF4lHIsa4pg7bAKlXyOzqsS3_wUWRnFCJnJRa1W6tR0IRNEnHCuqVhmJyLkJaw-IZ1a4nBiNJndtwmXvb8a00SiJ32kpx7zHehy/s762/legs.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="An upside-down ottoman with socks on its legs." border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="762" height="565" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKzLO2te2JGjlYqYfpHXO7iUlaUY_uXjkEG1uGObkjMqF4lHIsa4pg7bAKlXyOzqsS3_wUWRnFCJnJRa1W6tR0IRNEnHCuqVhmJyLkJaw-IZ1a4nBiNJndtwmXvb8a00SiJ32kpx7zHehy/w640-h565/legs.jpeg" width="640" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>This white wooden stool, on the other hand, got the pool noodle treatment:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yoPDDt9M6BLOJZWowpIJrJhP-THN1vVHI9ULcZkUBt7nYC6nZ809WaPXvgiw5VmVRn4hNtTtfPhgbRFRELGy_rbPhqBinA5aujt2Eh1GDXbR2ryIMNDun07NDsowWq_evepkx7ykbfA1/s667/stool.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="A white foot stool with blue foam taped around its edges." border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="667" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2yoPDDt9M6BLOJZWowpIJrJhP-THN1vVHI9ULcZkUBt7nYC6nZ809WaPXvgiw5VmVRn4hNtTtfPhgbRFRELGy_rbPhqBinA5aujt2Eh1GDXbR2ryIMNDun07NDsowWq_evepkx7ykbfA1/w640-h526/stool.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This is all part of the steps we've taken to wobbly-cat-proof our home. Littermates Charlotte and Rubin both have the neurological condition cerebellar hypoplasia, sometimes also called wobbly cat syndrome. The part of their brain which controls movement and balance didn't fully develop in the womb, so they are two happy, healthy cats who happen to fall into things a lot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Over the years we've had them, I feel we've really upped our baby-proofing game, and have found all sorts of ways to pad all sorts of awkward corners. When I was taking the below photo of the two newly-padded pieces of furniture together, I didn't even notice that I was getting the worn-out-pajama-pants-wrapped desk leg and the pipe-insulation-wrapped folding table legs in the background. It's just such a normal, un-noteworthy part of our lives now.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHmUErnq9Xvdx9rdip4SzqtOcK7zObvq1mwJrxjMkr4yKj6zzB9Xc80xLChqDKUegupn8LybM3oVQ_HBo_vFV1jRFA-tdKbx7bRApkKY47kTD89o9SYhl0-M2C2cRUMZibTpLrvvBc3A3/s765/both.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img alt="The ottoman and stool in front of a desk." border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="765" height="499" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHmUErnq9Xvdx9rdip4SzqtOcK7zObvq1mwJrxjMkr4yKj6zzB9Xc80xLChqDKUegupn8LybM3oVQ_HBo_vFV1jRFA-tdKbx7bRApkKY47kTD89o9SYhl0-M2C2cRUMZibTpLrvvBc3A3/w640-h499/both.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>(I mean, un-noteworthy until I'm sitting in the middle of our living room securing fuzzy blue socks on a floral ottoman and Steve says, "You really should take a picture.")</p><p><br /></p><p>Happy International Cat Day, everyone.</p>Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-67657438722565305222020-05-31T21:17:00.001-04:002020-05-31T21:17:54.744-04:00Sundays are for Fish Sketchin' (or, Drawing to Learn)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This morning I got up, ate some pancakes, and drew a fish. Because y'know, Sunday.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Meet the Iowa darter—or at least my best approximation of one.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMcVzf3pvwuf7qk4LGSZyGqJRt-deaM2D07-nLWFSsH9J3wgTJlgZ7yTEyN2wyUczZoJyWYIILNLmxiQsOttHZZags5Urxf_zdaIrhanVvS9fSZvd44VGKdb8E9jg5wYVSOOd5XdKl-wN/s1600/Iowa-darter_May31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pencil crayon drawing of long, thin fish with bright red and blue markings" border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzMcVzf3pvwuf7qk4LGSZyGqJRt-deaM2D07-nLWFSsH9J3wgTJlgZ7yTEyN2wyUczZoJyWYIILNLmxiQsOttHZZags5Urxf_zdaIrhanVvS9fSZvd44VGKdb8E9jg5wYVSOOd5XdKl-wN/s1600/Iowa-darter_May31.jpg" title="An Iowa darter, sort of" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My weekends haven't always been this way. Back in February I went to the Royal Ontario Museum for a one-day workshop called "Ontario Underwater: Freshwater Fishes of the Great Lakes". This was—and I cannot stress this enough—for fun. </div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3qB2T3b_4rpJjKvLKV7OUOIJbM8XEmRF0l8KRJ4cyTshLt6idsmLvIP4iaApJRsuC7OY7S7qRzr_Xc-t9NPi9vMSPah5wpLDvOEJnPb_wfSDeDbFLsdjGCjSjnsZJfFv5OS5wS5e3Z3F/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="A nametag from a fish workshop sits on top of a fish guide book" border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="1944" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3qB2T3b_4rpJjKvLKV7OUOIJbM8XEmRF0l8KRJ4cyTshLt6idsmLvIP4iaApJRsuC7OY7S7qRzr_Xc-t9NPi9vMSPah5wpLDvOEJnPb_wfSDeDbFLsdjGCjSjnsZJfFv5OS5wS5e3Z3F/s400/20200223_130803.jpg" title="I got a fancy badge and everything" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
I've had a good handle on Ontario mammals since I was a kid. I started casually birding in my twenties (although I still have a <i>lot</i> to learn) and more recently, my knowledge of local reptiles and amphibians has progressed nicely.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But fish, fish! For the most part, fish remained a mystery.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As I hoped, the workshop was a great introduction, but it was also a lot to take in in just a few hours. Luckily we were all sent home with a copy of the Freshwater Fishes of Ontario guide book, but what to do with it? With birding, you take your book and your binoculars and head out into the world. Hooking a fish just to get a look at isn't really my thing, but I didn't think sitting on a rock and staring hard at the waters of Lake Ontario was going to get me very far. </div>
<h3>
Solving a Fish-tery</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Enter the internet, and a bit of serendipity. Right around the time of the workshop, a hand drawn fish tagged #SundayFishSketch showed up in my Twitter feed. It turns out the hashtag was started by University of Kansas PhD candidate <a href="https://twitter.com/Lampichthys" target="_blank">Rene P. Martin</a> who, according to <a href="https://lampichthys.com/sundayfishsketch" target="_blank">her website</a>, has been posting fish sketches on Sundays since October 2016. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every week she announces a theme a few days before the weekend, and enthusiastic fish-sketchers from all skill levels reach for their paintbrushes or makers or computers and get to it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now, one of the horticulturalists at work once told me that she learned to identify plants by drawing them. It forces you to engage on a deeper level as you observe and recreate small details, and really take your time with the subject. So with my fish guide and Google image search by my side, I dove in. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I haven't been able to finish a drawing every week—the Iowa darter is only my sixth sketch so far—but I'm enjoying getting to know our local fish one hand-drawn species at a time.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(I'm also enjoying getting to know all of the colours in the pencil case of miscellany that's been moving around with me for twenty years.)</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguol-thaAIQxEEJKs4ovmrSa_wa3uPwmrarI5ZpJsgjXkgCJWd-deS7CmbT3tDVgFie-q3UJliDatTfI58ZuBLrt6fMFvtzHWs7z7cBnX0H1PR2P0VTx-eu3ZKVk12KCileqfC9bALgAMA/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A strip of paper filled with colour squares with names written beside them" border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguol-thaAIQxEEJKs4ovmrSa_wa3uPwmrarI5ZpJsgjXkgCJWd-deS7CmbT3tDVgFie-q3UJliDatTfI58ZuBLrt6fMFvtzHWs7z7cBnX0H1PR2P0VTx-eu3ZKVk12KCileqfC9bALgAMA/s400/20200531_103321.jpg" title="It's an out-of-balance rainbow of choice" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
Related Reading/Viewing:<br />
<ul>
<li>See <a href="https://twitter.com/search?f=live&q=%22%23SundayFishSketch%22%20(from%3Ashumpgullion)" target="_blank">my #SundayFishSketch posts on Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>See all <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SundayFishSketch" target="_blank">#SundayFishSketch posts on Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-60938652051543871862020-05-30T23:21:00.000-04:002020-05-31T13:42:59.761-04:00The Beauty of Slowing Down<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTsdSs80c7Bgr1bwC-XPKLRSAzQDkExSkEdCbWy8AdJAdMmyH5OF45Aq1yv4mgugclzaQpErZI9CQGC9tPwteWgq8jfTmqE1ns7NBcH8AzAQFLUhqcCdgcYALIUhXAsWPxPC7c2yUSdcY/s1600/P2140448-small.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="During a sunset, hills are silhouetted between a pink, blue, and yellow sky and a lake glowing orange" border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1382" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTsdSs80c7Bgr1bwC-XPKLRSAzQDkExSkEdCbWy8AdJAdMmyH5OF45Aq1yv4mgugclzaQpErZI9CQGC9tPwteWgq8jfTmqE1ns7NBcH8AzAQFLUhqcCdgcYALIUhXAsWPxPC7c2yUSdcY/s640/P2140448-small.jpeg" title="Sunset from the Train" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
We've been staying home and social distancing for two-and-a-half months now, as the spring of COVID-19 stretches into summer. All things considered, I'm surprised it took me this long to decide to spend some of this formless time giving my website a little refresh.<br />
<br />
When I was looking for a new banner photo, this image felt like the perfect choice. It's a lovely photo <i>if-I-do-say-so-myself</i>, but it's also a lovely memory. A year ago next weekend, Steve and I rode the Maple Leaf together, a train that connects Toronto and New York City. We'd travelled to New York before, once by plane and once by bus, but since then I'd discovered the joy of train travel during a three day solo rail trip across America (which is a story for another time). Although that trip was filled with once-in-a-lifetime sights, it was even better to rattle along a little closer to home if it meant I could watch the sunset with someone I love.<br />
<br />
This year, there's no travel lined up in our near future and no one-minute play festival to draw us to New York anyway, but as the anniversary of this sunset approaches, I'm reminded that the real beauty of the moment was in slowing down and spending time together, which is something we've been doing plenty of.<br />
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-51151424181824771552019-07-02T22:30:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:25:42.966-04:00Reading Jean: A 100th Birthday Celebration<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today would have been Jean Craighead George's 100th birthday. She passed away in 2012 at the age of 92, but even if she didn't make it into the triple digits, her booklist did. George was a prolific author, writing over a hundred books - mostly for kids and mostly about nature and animals. </span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-98f2705f-7fff-1d93-4bda-b97db42fec93"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a child, animal books were all I ever wanted to read. E.B. White's stories were an early favourite and still sit on my shelf, alongside titles like </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wilds of Whip-Poor-Will Farm, Misty of Chincoteague, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, Beautiful Joe, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where the Red Fern Grows.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> When most girls my age were reading <i>The Babysitter's Club</i> series - well, I was reading those too, but I was also devoted to <i>The Saddle Club</i>. I went through a Jim Kjelgaard phase and a James Herriot phase, accidentally learning a lot about the American wilderness of the 40s and 50s and life in rural England in the process. </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So why then do I only remember reading one of George's books, the Newberry Medal winning <i>Julie of the Wolves</i>? I genuinely don't know. Maybe my school library didn't carry many of her other books. I'm certain her other best-known title, <i>My Side of the Mountain</i>, was available at school - it's possible I read it and have forgotten, but it's just as possible that my opinionated young self assumed it would only be about a boy hunting to survive and not have nearly enough living animals in it to count as good reading. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPwiEzkUYw3SCiCZaSjjy3TYpyHtzUmROVDpkZncRDVMPXp3X2FKkLootHPgvMKWWBqKcO8JnDrjpGzsFTeSoHCRIeyLjkVO8GoRe8xGVJrYtyUV6jtkr7RvYt3b7QAmyu683aOR8yzVI/s1600/george_vulpes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="291" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPwiEzkUYw3SCiCZaSjjy3TYpyHtzUmROVDpkZncRDVMPXp3X2FKkLootHPgvMKWWBqKcO8JnDrjpGzsFTeSoHCRIeyLjkVO8GoRe8xGVJrYtyUV6jtkr7RvYt3b7QAmyu683aOR8yzVI/s320/george_vulpes.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm not sure why most of the works of Jean Craighead George never made it to my childhood end table, but now as an adult they've started making it onto my tablet. The first set of books George published were co-written with her husband and are referred to as The American Woodland Tales series. A few years ago I realized their very first book - <i>Vulpes the Red Fox</i> - was available on Amazon Kindle and picked it up. I read it then and enjoyed it so today, in honour of her 100th birthday, I've started reading it again and loaded up the rest of the Woodland series to follow.</span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Digital editions read as an adult will never hold the same place in my life as the well-worn books of my youth, but that doesn't mean it's too late to learn what I can from them and from a woman who - as I just learned today - was still writing in celebration of animals four days before she died.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy Birthday Jean, wherever you are.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Further Reading:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.jeancraigheadgeorge.com/biography.html" target="_blank">Biography on JeanCraigheadGeorge.com</a> </span></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Craighead_George" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jean Craighead George on Wikipedia</span></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/books/jean-craighead-george-childrens-author-dies-at-92.html?_r=2" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">New York Times Obituary</span></a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-39419972822378453722019-03-25T00:01:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:29:25.233-04:00Another Twenty-Four Hours, Another Really Random First Draft Today I sent a brand new play out for some strangers to read. I had not read the lines out loud, or sent it to a trusted friend, or reviewed it any way. I hadn't even read the whole thing myself, start to finish.<br />
<br />
This is not, of course, the recommended way to do submissions. But such is the nature of entering 24-Hour Playwriting Contests, at least for me. It had been two years since I took on a play-in-a-day challenge, so at the last minute I decided to pay my fee and sign up for this year's <a href="https://fringetoronto.com/get-involved/artists/fringe" target="_blank">Toronto Fringe</a> contest.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
As <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/2014/10/the-true-payoff-of-24-hour-playwriting.html">I've written about before</a>, I know at least some writers who enter these things have a loose idea for a play in mind and then find a way to incorporate the prompts they are given. I like to do the exact opposite and think not one bit about the play until the prompts arrive in my inbox. Prompts like these:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHjyhsNrDUz5CQTtG6wfS3EKrzBVwGd_sx2QNCyMkFdKjZNosxy588f-hoN-E8pTcGBv9vlynYtis3SDjpIT10LVZ3oGaCRv_17mCrecIj580L_C8UJTinorkiI7W9XchhVPu6KX6VF_5/s1600/24hrfringe-2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCHjyhsNrDUz5CQTtG6wfS3EKrzBVwGd_sx2QNCyMkFdKjZNosxy588f-hoN-E8pTcGBv9vlynYtis3SDjpIT10LVZ3oGaCRv_17mCrecIj580L_C8UJTinorkiI7W9XchhVPu6KX6VF_5/s320/24hrfringe-2019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Since the contest is judged blind (meaning the jurors are not supposed to know who wrote any given play), I'll leave out the details of my story for now. But I can say that it is definitely not a play I would have written without those prompts.<br />
<br />
It is also definitely not going to win.<br />
<br />
It's likely too short for one thing, and is very under-developed. One of the problems with starting from nothing is that if the prompts don't coalesce into an idea you love pretty quickly, those 24-hours can disappear fast. After receiving the prompts at 5pm on Saturday I spent the rest of the evening rolling around ideas, but by the time I went to bed I had only settled on the barest of bones (and yes, I do sleep when I'm doing these contests - I'm a long way from my all-night-is-all-right twenties). So I rolled out of bed at 7 am this morning with just 10 hours left to write and no actual script pages written. Factor in my slow-start morning style, and this was pretty much an 8-hour play - and it shows.<br />
<br />
But that's just fine with me. I don't enter these to win; I enter them to be forced into new ideas. A 24 Hour Contest is where <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/p/flood-control.html" target="_blank">Flood Control</a> came from, and <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/p/universal-language.html" target="_blank">Universal Language</a>, and <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/p/marks-of-birth.html" target="_blank">Marks of Birth</a>. None of the original drafts placed in their respective contests, but the revised versions were produced.<br />
<br />
So I'll let today's script sit for the two weeks until the winner is announced, then I'll give it a re-read and cringe at the thought that I sent it out into the world at all. After a healthy-dose of self criticism I'll suck it up and fix it, or turn it into something else and send it out again, this odd little tale that wasn't even a whisper when the weekend began.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-412312150694409742019-01-08T01:00:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:30:13.184-04:00A Big Year of Small Encounters #1: The Subway Pigeon<i>(Cross-posted from my <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/marilync" target="_blank">iNaturalist journal</a>)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
Last week a former co-worker dropped by the Arboretum and, just before he was about to leave, mentioned that one of his plans for 2019 was to do a personal “Big Year”, trying to see as many different bird species as he can in the province of Ontario in a single year.
<br />
<br />
“I was thinking you should do it, too.”
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
He said it so casually, like challenging me to entirely shift my relationship with birds was no big thing. Because while there are many birders who generate incredibly detailed lists and records, I am most definitely not one of them. I’m more interested in the experience of being around birds, and of observing birds as individuals. But so far I've been pretty terrible at keeping records, even though I happily promote eBird and iNaturalist to anyone who will listen.
<br />
<br />
After giving it a little thought, I've decided taking on the challenge of a Big Year isn't a bad idea at all. It should help motivate me to make more citizen science entries and help me with my own 2019 plan to get back to learning new things about birds (I've gotten lazy in the past few years - perhaps I'll write more on that another day).
<br />
<br />
But still, just keeping a list didn't feel right for me. And since my own biggest plans for 2019 revolve around the environment, I have no desire to get into the type of Big Year effort that involves driving around chasing after OntBird rarity alerts (not that I have a car to do that with anyway). So I've come up with my own, slightly tweaked plan:
<br />
<br />
For 2019, I'm aiming for a Big Year of Small Encounters.
<br />
<br />
What that means is I will try to list as many species as I can but, as much as possible, I want to avoid just checking a box. I'd like to instead have some small moment or impression or observation or anecdote tied to an individual member of the species before I add it to my list. Basically, I don't want to just have SEEN a bird - I want to have truly focused on it. It means my list will build more slowly as I take my time with the locals, but that's a large part of the point - to spend a bit of time on birds I take for granted.
<br />
<br />
But all of that said, if I DO catch only a fleeting glimpse of an uncommon bird, it's absolutely still going in the final tally! And while I won't be taking any special car trips to add to the list, I'll keep my eyes open for more carbon-neutral opportunities to expand my birding range beyond my usual haunts.
<br />
<br />
And so without further ado:
<br />
<br />
<h2>
#1: Rock dove (<i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Columbia livia</i>) - January 1st</h2>
<br />
One New Year's Day, Steve and I were on our way to see <i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald</i> when we encountered a fantastic beast of our own. We boarded a parked subway car at Kipling Station that sat with its doors open, waiting for more holiday-travelling souls to board. There was only one other person in our end of the car, until a new rider arrived with a flutter of wings. The pigeon wandered on and strutted around under each section of seats, presumably looking for dropped food. We watched with delight; the other human rider looked a little uncertain. Then the door chimes sounded and I wondered what the pigeon would do when the train started moving. The answer was not much; it stayed focused on its food hunt until we pulled into the next station.
<br />
<br />
The bird approached the door, but some oblivious humans failed at Transit Etiquette 101 and boarded before letting the other passenger exit. Insulting! But the pigeon still calmly slipped out before the door could close, and presumably went on to enjoy the rest of its day.
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsO5wBlhyOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
<div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;">
</div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsO5wBlhyOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsO5wBlhyOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">
</div>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsO5wBlhyOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> </a><br />
<div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translatex(0px) translatey(7px); width: 12.5px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translatex(3px) translatey(1px); width: 12.5px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translatex(9px) translatey(-18px); width: 12.5px;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0; transform: translatex(16px) translatey(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid #f4f4f4; transform: translatey(16px); width: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12px; transform: translatey(-4px); width: 16px;">
</div>
<div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid #f4f4f4; height: 0; transform: translatey(-4px) translatex(8px); width: 0;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsO5wBlhyOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">
</a> <br />
<div style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsO5wBlhyOW/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Subway companion from New Year's Day. Got on at Kipling, got off at the next stop. Sure seemed like an experienced rider. 🚈 #Pigeon #RockDove #Bird #BirdBehaviour #TorontoWildlife #UrbanWildlife #TTC #TorontoTransit #SubwayRiders #BirdOnTheTrain</a></div>
<div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">
A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/marilyn.cam/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Marilyn Anne Campbell</a> (@marilyn.cam) on <time datetime="2019-01-05T00:54:26+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jan 4, 2019 at 4:54pm PST</time></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-54192128956047022872018-12-06T18:38:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:32:40.983-04:00Joining the Litterati (sort of)A few months ago I first tried out an app called <a href="https://www.litterati.org/" target="_blank">Litterati</a>, which encourages people to not only clean up litter, but to photograph it, tag it, and place it on a map as citizen science, so that those who are trying to combat litter at its source have information on what kind of garbage is showing up where.<br />
<br />
The app also tracks your total count of what you've cleaned up so you can compare yourself to others and even create your own club for a little friendly competition and added motivation.<br />
<br />
<center>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> </a><br />
<div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;">
</div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">
</div>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> </a><br />
<div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translatex(0px) translatey(7px); width: 12.5px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translatex(3px) translatey(1px); width: 12.5px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translatex(9px) translatey(-18px); width: 12.5px;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0; transform: translatex(16px) translatey(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid #f4f4f4; transform: translatey(16px); width: 0px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12px; transform: translatey(-4px); width: 16px;">
</div>
<div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid #f4f4f4; height: 0; transform: translatey(-4px) translatex(8px); width: 0;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">
</a> <br />
<div style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq7Z9uSBXPo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Party's Over 🗑 #Litterati #litter #balloons #garbage</a></div>
<div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">
A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/marilyn.cam/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Marilyn Anne Campbell</a> (@marilyn.cam) on <time datetime="2018-12-03T14:16:52+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Dec 3, 2018 at 6:16am PST</time></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
</center>
<br />
I love the idea of the app, but it and my tablet are not getting along when it comes to mapping. That's part of why I stopped using it when I initially downloaded it in the summer. I decided recently to give it another go, but the problem persists. For example, this pair of balloons was tumbling around behind the Humber College residence buildings, but when I uploaded the photo it placed them on the other side of campus beside a major intersection (and it's a big campus).<br />
<br />
I assume the problem is with my tablet (which qualifies as old in the world of tech) and I can't find a way to edit the placement of the litter on the map. For now, I've discovered that if I leave my GPS off, the litter gets added to my tally without appearing on the map at all. That means I can still keep track of how much litter I've picked up with my personal counter, but I won't be able to contribute to the citizen science portion of the project.<br />
<br />
It's far from ideal, as adding to our local knowledge of litter sources is what drew me to the app in the first place, but for now I'll settle for challenging myself to help to clean it up. If I ever join the 2000s and get a smartphone, I assume the mapping will go a lot smoother.<br />
<br />
Outside of my technological failings, I do hope that someday Litterati has the resources to take a page from <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/" target="_blank">iNaturalist</a> and add a more robust web presence where you can log into your account on the site, add notes about your adventures, connect with other local Litterati, plan public clean-ups, etc. I've sent them an email - we'll see what the future brings.<br />
<br />
Want to get in on the action? <a href="https://www.litterati.org/" target="_blank">Litterati</a> is available in both the Apple App store and on Google Play.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="max-width: 854px;">
<div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jeff_kirschner_this_app_makes_it_fun_to_pick_up_litter" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; top: 0; width: 100%;" width="854"></iframe></div>
</div>
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-21007049148823936502018-11-27T00:26:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:33:25.428-04:00Why I (Should) Still Write - A Note to Self<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I haven’t been writing much lately. Nothing creative, at least. I </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> been writing more tweets than usual, and posting more in Facebook groups. Plus there was that one out-of-character Facebook rant for friends and family to enjoy. There have been extensive comments on proposed government policies, and corresponding emails to politicians. And I have some business and media types still on my to-email list. So I guess there have been a lot of words, just not a lot of stories.</span><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s hard to focus on making things up when so much real life is disappearing.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My recent words have been about caribou, coyotes, and cormorants. November, once reserved for the dug-in flurry of fiction writing that is Nanowrimo, has instead been filled with public meetings and private missives sent to friends who I both hope and fear are feeling the same way I am.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you take time to make art when the world is in ecological crisis?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you live your normal life?</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And should you even try?</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m lucky, at least, that my day job at a public garden/conservation area/nature education centre feels like it matters more than ever. So that part’s easy...ish. But I find it hard to motivate myself to write anything outside the scope of my new personal ABC’s - Animals, Biodiversity, Climate. And even getting those words out is hard, because the storm of bad news is relentless, and it’s so easy to lose hours and days and weekends just reading and worrying and wondering how best to help and then reading some more, letting time we don’t have slip away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkT0113GPPIRTEm5HrBxppdKZnpaKe2gkcYxIiYlFTBgqr8FPIrwykIi_y_RWFDCE9XkIQ8qVJZpY45FOzknLKgDhoxvOyQEbUfGvJZZrj8Vuyeb7gUitmVNGbfAfPKL4_swarpZ2xlbS/s1600/ABCs+credit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A graphic of lined paper with a pencil writing the words Animals, Biodiversity, Climate" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkT0113GPPIRTEm5HrBxppdKZnpaKe2gkcYxIiYlFTBgqr8FPIrwykIi_y_RWFDCE9XkIQ8qVJZpY45FOzknLKgDhoxvOyQEbUfGvJZZrj8Vuyeb7gUitmVNGbfAfPKL4_swarpZ2xlbS/s320/ABCs+credit.jpg" title="Practising My ABCss" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">My favourite writing quote of all time is from E.B. White:</span><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“All that I ever hope to say in books is that I love the world.”</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I will keep writing - the policy comments and the plays, the pamphlets and the poems. Because we need to fight, but we also need more people to love the world. </span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think that might be our only hope. </span></div>
<br />
#<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hello, welcome (back</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, thanks for reading. As the title suggests, this post is mainly to keep myself on track. If it connects with something you’ve been thinking or feeling of late, that’s great. But it is not meant to be a statement on how anyone else spends their time. If you are prolifically creating wild, wacky, wonderful things? Amazing. If you have walked away from your regular life to strike on the steps of your nation’s parliament? You are my hero. I suspect my most useful place is between those two, but then, it's a rather baffling time. </span><br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-77471903631943399382018-04-30T08:35:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:37:02.758-04:00Camp NaNoWriMo - Wrap Up<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZMNp1GsnV09r2uaos731yvcTEno6hTRaTCBBG72fCA5SDI6WanmTb_8ibogPbwwx4jRIMYsRfqSbUldzYv8Fkl8dKrc6vx98kuETAfz44QeuSs1cqAMyQzU7GDQdB_4tqb9ByeBKYr2X/s1600/Camp-2018-Writer-Profile-Photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="555" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZMNp1GsnV09r2uaos731yvcTEno6hTRaTCBBG72fCA5SDI6WanmTb_8ibogPbwwx4jRIMYsRfqSbUldzYv8Fkl8dKrc6vx98kuETAfz44QeuSs1cqAMyQzU7GDQdB_4tqb9ByeBKYr2X/s200/Camp-2018-Writer-Profile-Photo.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Well, with this round of <a href="https://campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Camp Nanowrimo</a> heading into the final 17 hours I can safely say I will NOT be "winning" this time around, seeing as I would need to do 16 more hours of writing to meet my goal and I do have a job to go to shortly. I did, however, succeed in writing three new short plays this month, made great progress on two longer plays, and started two picture books. So it was still a pretty good run.<br />
<br />
I actually made the decision not to finish yesterday, and was leaning towards that decision on Saturday. As soon as I looked at all the things I wanted to do with the past weekend and realized it was either do those things and write for a few hours or forget having a weekend at all and just write, I chose the more balanced approach.<br />
<br />
When I was younger I surely would have surrendered my whole weekend to an online writing challenge, but as I stated in my project listing on the Camp Nanowrimo website:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fdf8df; color: #4b3a19; font-family: "verdana" , "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The real goal is not the final tally though; if I get far behind and have to catch up at the end of the month I'll have missed the point. Rebuilding a daily writing habit is the goal.</span></blockquote>
Of course I got ahead of myself and chose a goal based on writing every day AND writing for another few hours on every day out of the month that I wasn't at work. So I set a target of 46 hours of writing in April. My count currently sits at 30, but will go up by an hour or two before the end of the day. I didn't write every day, but I did write more days than not. More importantly, I figured out a few things I will try out in the coming month to keep the train rolling:<br />
<br />
<b>Writing in the Mornings</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This whole month I was trying to put aside an hour to write when I got home from work in the evenings, but sometimes when I got home I was worn out, or frustrated, or distracted by the excitement of a work project. Also, I got home at different times and had different evening commitments, making it hard to feel like a habit was forming.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBgxyK5efP-sJkb9lGUTMVuv7eeoqb3sW9f5T3fzT6iGqlRH7AHi1LmSTRlZbAu-59P8wN62hWqlxAOhf-ttzdZzAmIG4FAqS-6othBbCqRpuB43kuGaCK-cTDU_2hFDnMKTj5wnhHKOV/s1600/sodoku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBgxyK5efP-sJkb9lGUTMVuv7eeoqb3sW9f5T3fzT6iGqlRH7AHi1LmSTRlZbAu-59P8wN62hWqlxAOhf-ttzdZzAmIG4FAqS-6othBbCqRpuB43kuGaCK-cTDU_2hFDnMKTj5wnhHKOV/s200/sodoku.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And yet I <i>have</i> a daily habit that I formed much by accident - morning Sodoku. After getting into doing the puzzles in the paper last year, I was given a Page a Day Sodoku calendar and a Sodoku book for Christmas and have done one every morning for all of 2018. The original idea was to do them on the bus during my commute, but that backed up to during my morning coffee, whether or not I was going to work.<br />
<br />
So as of this morning, I'm switching to morning writing. One hour in the Sodoku slot, and the puzzle can come after. Of course I may choose to write longer on days that I'm home or write again in the evenings, but I'm going to try starting my day with writing, before other things can crowd in and get on my mind.<br />
<br />
<b>Taking Seinfeld Digital</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3fyUgntMK1gc0qeWRA6orPYP3sDZqSMDXFgzcsh-QXc6NHB1_P9ssoe6361YHNytgfrUErCvC8Xhn-aT6xRT2rwXzDXbmnlKZWWxKhOrmvwtdVXHTOVmkNT9IFZJXXNgeONtOWirO-K4/s1600/climo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3fyUgntMK1gc0qeWRA6orPYP3sDZqSMDXFgzcsh-QXc6NHB1_P9ssoe6361YHNytgfrUErCvC8Xhn-aT6xRT2rwXzDXbmnlKZWWxKhOrmvwtdVXHTOVmkNT9IFZJXXNgeONtOWirO-K4/s320/climo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I mentioned in my <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/2018/04/camp-nanowrimo-halfway-point.html" target="_blank">Camp Nano Halfway Point blog post</a> that I was interested in Jerry Seinfeld's idea of putting a big red X through the calendar on every day that you wrote (in his case, new jokes) so that you would get a nice visual chain going that you didn't want to break. The problem I ran into is that our only wall calendar is "<a href="https://thelittleworldofliz.com/" target="_blank">The Little World of Liz Climo</a>" and I like the look of it so much that I actually didn't like putting big red Xs on it, so the satisfaction I was supposed to get from seeing them was marred.<br />
<br />
My next thought was to go by another calendar just for that purpose, but just last night it occurred to me that perhaps digital is the way to go. I threw together a red X writing tally page for myself in Google Docs, and set it to open up every time I launch chrome:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx0_a_6YFPCYQGuvDRT4vLczJQUvhx6ntRbx_PUc3NzWs8afhr3S4L87E-3aWsuAHYh0MIbJOABwCUwUtsezvXoDrmwDJ3s_5xE0kkZBTWdFajHvlyfGs93V6HcAa6jlpF7kzROeDrVVI/s1600/writing-tally.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="623" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjx0_a_6YFPCYQGuvDRT4vLczJQUvhx6ntRbx_PUc3NzWs8afhr3S4L87E-3aWsuAHYh0MIbJOABwCUwUtsezvXoDrmwDJ3s_5xE0kkZBTWdFajHvlyfGs93V6HcAa6jlpF7kzROeDrVVI/s400/writing-tally.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I've also gone with <u>Deep Work</u> author Cal Newport's suggestion to tally how much time you spend focused on your most important task, so instead of just one X for writing at all it's an X for every hour. I'll see this every time I want to go online, so if I've somehow missed my morning writing hour I'll have a big reminder of that pop-up in my face before I can get to my email or social media or anywhere else on the web.<br />
<br />
<b>Back to Camp?</b><br />
<br />
So with those tweaks, a plan to rearrange our creative space, and new on-the-go projects to get finished, I'm heading into May with the continuing goal to write every day, and more. Camp Nanowrimo takes place again in July; I'll decide closer to the date if I want to do it again. If all goes well that would be with a project-based goal, since I'll hopefully have this regular-writing habit locked in by then.<br />
<br />
<br />
Did you go to Camp Nanowrimo? If so, how'd it go? Or what writing habits work for you?<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-15701729207881671952018-04-15T22:25:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:37:21.790-04:00Camp NaNoWriMo - The Halfway Point<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZMNp1GsnV09r2uaos731yvcTEno6hTRaTCBBG72fCA5SDI6WanmTb_8ibogPbwwx4jRIMYsRfqSbUldzYv8Fkl8dKrc6vx98kuETAfz44QeuSs1cqAMyQzU7GDQdB_4tqb9ByeBKYr2X/s1600/Camp-2018-Writer-Profile-Photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="555" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZMNp1GsnV09r2uaos731yvcTEno6hTRaTCBBG72fCA5SDI6WanmTb_8ibogPbwwx4jRIMYsRfqSbUldzYv8Fkl8dKrc6vx98kuETAfz44QeuSs1cqAMyQzU7GDQdB_4tqb9ByeBKYr2X/s200/Camp-2018-Writer-Profile-Photo.png" width="200" /></a>Today marks the halfway point for this month's <a href="https://campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Camp NaNoWriMo</a>, the set-your-own-goal online writing challenge tied to National Novel Writing Month in November. Rather than choosing a word count goal, I wanted to use this month to build a regular, daily writing habit.<br />
<br />
My current tally is at 18 hours, which would have me more than halfway there if I'd gone with a simple hour-per-day goal. But I had a different plan, as explained on my <a href="https://campnanowrimo.org/campers/shumpgullion/projects/april-writing-hours" target="_blank">Camp NaNoWriMo Project Page</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #fdf8df; color: #4b3a19; font-family: "verdana" , "helvetica neue" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The goal is at least one hour a day (30 hours), plus one additional hour on the days I know I'll have off during the month (+12), plus at least two mini-binge days with two additional hours (+4), for at least 46 hours spent writing in April.</span> </blockquote>
So with that in mind, I technically should have been at 23 hours today to really be on track. But since my ultimate goal is to build up better habits, I went into this hoping that the month would get progressively better, not planning to have it all come together on day one.<br />
<br />
Unlike the every-spare-moment-spent-writing word count crunch of NaNoWriMo, more time for reading was an unofficial part of my April goal. One of the books I read this month was <u>Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life</u> by Anne Lamott.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LXQ3DmOFPSYLPqFpM9Zmp0FG_1y7iHzOCy5jRYFVmObKHL0RcoBtsX68skKi3DfGiD2_UEw9BWY6zaT-ocdcSw0l8gq1FnRGyWmxMGHprtBWgDcSDMUe-AHHez86Ly2eXDHfdGBHL9sB/s1600/lamott_bird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LXQ3DmOFPSYLPqFpM9Zmp0FG_1y7iHzOCy5jRYFVmObKHL0RcoBtsX68skKi3DfGiD2_UEw9BWY6zaT-ocdcSw0l8gq1FnRGyWmxMGHprtBWgDcSDMUe-AHHez86Ly2eXDHfdGBHL9sB/s320/lamott_bird.jpg" width="219" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not actually about birds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'd <a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/11/22/bird-by-bird-anne-lamott/" target="_blank">read good things about it</a> and thought it would be a great fit for Camp. Although there ended up being some helpful stuff in it, I must admit I almost stopped reading. I'm not familiar with any of Lamott's other writing, but I quickly got the feeling that she and I simply have a different view of life, which made getting on board with her anecdotes and asides tough.<br />
<br />
I'm glad I stuck it out though, as there's a really wonderful section near the end about reasons to write. It includes ideas about writing something as a present for someone in your life, writing something to return the favour to the author of a book you love (even if they're unlikely to ever read yours), thinking of writing as being a host to your readers, or seeing writing as a way of giving readers a feeling of connection and communion. These aren't the practical "instructions" someone reading Lamott might be looking for, but for me they were a refreshing bit of motivation.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, I found a very practical suggestion for the rest of Camp in an unexpected place. I've started reading <u>Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World,</u> which I also saw someone recommend online. I'm only partway in, but its already included a story about Jerry Seinfeld's dedication to writing new jokes every day which I think I had heard before, but clearly forgotten:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
"Seinfeld continued by
describing a specific technique he used to help maintain this discipline. He
keeps a calendar on his wall. Every day that he writes jokes he crosses out the
date on the calendar with a big red <i>X</i>.
'After a few days you'll have a chain,' Seinfeld said. 'Just keep at it and the
chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially
when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break
the chain.'"</div>
</blockquote>
So now a red pen is at the ready by our kitchen calendar, to see if I can get a nice chain going by the end of the month.<br />
<br />
Are you taking part in Camp? If so, how's your month going?<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-55205669358891379422018-03-25T22:14:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:36:25.133-04:00Gearing Up for Camp NaNoWriMoCome April, I'll be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, a month-long writing challenge where you create your own definition of success. It's the more flexible cousin of November's National Novel Writing Month, where all participants are trying to write 50,000 words in those 30 days.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYeI0Tv7ZKaoghk8N0q0v4LHqcdI_RxATE6dic3ePThGAZ9PLrqEyMhIU9UsVWe5riQeydIsGM2JayeoaYOX4rZZzxPNNBcbfSkbKjOXqfwt0V8euqCVYDNQjj12vQXSaxAckoHxmfg2Y/s1600/Camp-2018-Writer-Profile-Photo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="555" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzYeI0Tv7ZKaoghk8N0q0v4LHqcdI_RxATE6dic3ePThGAZ9PLrqEyMhIU9UsVWe5riQeydIsGM2JayeoaYOX4rZZzxPNNBcbfSkbKjOXqfwt0V8euqCVYDNQjj12vQXSaxAckoHxmfg2Y/s320/Camp-2018-Writer-Profile-Photo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I've twice "won" at NaNoWriMo (and once at the now defunct Script Frenzy challenge), but that was over a decade ago. For my first time at camp, my whole goal is based on writing hours rather than word count or even a particular project. I've never been someone who wrote everyday, but in the past few years my writing sessions have become more sporadic than ever. So I'm going to Camp with the goal of creating new habits which I hope will last long after the month is over.<br />
<br />
Want to set your own writing goal for April and have some online friends to cheer you on? There's still time to <a href="https://campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">sign up for camp</a>!<br />
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-17434130975209870612018-03-07T01:14:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:39:00.744-04:00On Stretch Goals and Goose Buttons<br />
So if you follow me on any social media, you probably already know that Volume 5 of the Toronto Comics Anthology <u>Osgoode as Gold</u> is currently on Kickstarter. The campaign video even includes a shout-out from co-editor Megan Purdy for the story I wrote, "The Goosefighter", which has art by Austen Payne:<br />
<br />
<center>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" scrolling="no" src="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tocomixpress/toronto-comics-osgoode-as-gold/widget/video.html" width="480"> </iframe>
</center>
"The Goosefighter" is a Western-inspired tale about a young woman whose day is ruined by a territorial Canada goose on the York University campus. It is one of 27 new Toronto-set short comics that fill the 220 full colour pages of this collection.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyXFZTdBqHTw3UafI3w-ObbsePsn4_tUQQxU86WeQH3O_yMtyId1AYvdWm_xFSmaq4o6NQr5rTg62aFHk2jT1Kg1LeqBHjIERq44HaWVK2Ej4HA2JZFpEl2GZvqH0Qr99WhaiePavY40w/s1600/osgoode-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyXFZTdBqHTw3UafI3w-ObbsePsn4_tUQQxU86WeQH3O_yMtyId1AYvdWm_xFSmaq4o6NQr5rTg62aFHk2jT1Kg1LeqBHjIERq44HaWVK2Ej4HA2JZFpEl2GZvqH0Qr99WhaiePavY40w/s200/osgoode-cover.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover by Irma Kniivila</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As I write this, the Kickstarter is at just under $6000 raised out of an original $15,000 goal, with the rest of the month to go. I've been rather casually posting about it as a great way to support the T<a href="http://tocomix.com/" target="_blank">oronto Comix Press</a> and the creators by pre-ordering your physical or PDF copy of the book.<br />
<br />
But today - TODAY - they announced the stretch goals. (If you're not familiar with crowdfunding campaigns, stretch goals are an extra incentive to raise above and beyond the original target.) So what are the stretch goals for the <u>Osgoode as Gold</u><i> </i>campaign?<br />
<br />
If they raise $16,000, the cover text gets a Raised UV Gloss upgrade.<br />
<br />
If they raise $17,000, all backers who've pledged $5 or more will get all of the previous anthologies as PDFs.<br />
<br />
If they raise $18,000, all physical backers will get an adorable bookmark set.<br />
<br />
And if they raise $19,000, all physical backers will receive a set of six character buttons designed by artist <a href="https://www.thequietly.com/" target="_blank">Megan Kearney</a>.<br />
<br />
Characters from the stories in the book.<br />
<br />
These six characters right here:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh8e5BcziyKeFHAUpCRjJ4nr2CRpaCSSyYDv8j39zxWLfWBfuWujdTCaw2OR8yGbOlNPO3zy2yyxsdtujDZCtMdHTFxHj8xk0EjwzndzlX55vGpEMHFwcwL4Nkx0KvthDZ8Jr6O0B2Ym_/s1600/19k-buttons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="639" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjh8e5BcziyKeFHAUpCRjJ4nr2CRpaCSSyYDv8j39zxWLfWBfuWujdTCaw2OR8yGbOlNPO3zy2yyxsdtujDZCtMdHTFxHj8xk0EjwzndzlX55vGpEMHFwcwL4Nkx0KvthDZ8Jr6O0B2Ym_/s320/19k-buttons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Bottom row, middle button. Do you see it? DO YOU SEE THE ANGRY GOOSE?<br />
<br />
19K people. 19k is the magic number for goose buttons. I believe we can do it. Like that honking V flying overhead during migration, we can go the distance.<br />
<br />
Check out the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tocomixpress/toronto-comics-osgoode-as-gold/posts/2130551" target="_blank">Osgoode as Gold campaign on Kickstarter</a><br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-84095940851313208792018-02-08T00:47:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:39:33.390-04:00Recommended Reading: Watcher of the Skies<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BbfuQpMjEA5/" data-instgrm-version="8" style="background: #fff; border-radius: 3px; border: 0; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.5) , 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0 , 0 , 0 , 0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: 99.375%;">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 62.5% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;">
<div style="background: url(data:image/png; display: block; height: 44px; margin: 0 auto -44px; position: relative; top: -22px; width: 44px;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;">
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BbfuQpMjEA5/" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Yay book in the mail! Excited to check out this poetry collection for kids about space and aliens from @theemmapress . And I love the bonus bookmark! #kidlit #kidspoetry #indiepress #uk #inthemail #toread</a></div>
<div style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">
A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/marilyn.cam/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Marilyn Anne Campbell</a> (@marilyn.cam) on <time datetime="2017-11-15T00:24:34+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 14, 2017 at 4:24pm PST</time></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>
<br />
And it turned out my excitement over the arrival of this anthology from the UK was warranted. <u>Watcher of the Skies: Poems about Space and Aliens</u> is a fantastic poetry collection for kids - playful and insightful and sure to spark the imagination of young writers and explorers alike.<br />
<br />
The collection pairs the poems with notes and suggested connections (presumably) supplied by editors Rachel Piercey and Emma Wright, along with related facts by Rachel Cochrane, a PhD student from the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy. This is a wonderful way to put the book together, as it means the poems can rise to any level of whimsy, with the kid-friendly "footnotes" offering the real-world support.<br />
<br />
Some of my personal favourites include the crop-circle instructional "Art 101 for Aliens" by Rebecca Colby and the story of Galileo as told in "The Starry Messenger" by John Canfield. Robert Schecter's "Compared to What?" and Dom Conlon's "The Way Planets Talk" both compellingly present big ideas while "Up Above" by Mandy Coe is a beautiful hint at where folklore comes from.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9c5VNYHSv3oonNF-T2YTfg7aEg_mYwtrkkfHgCE9F0R-jWYvBptsVsipUMP7ZnawLHglhvsR8SrMXizbuRH4Eh1jBZ63qYxIaimQ-q9uOnCHUF_Uez2E6JUFRNt_9FvOWhAv90sDRUkAc/s1600/180207_watcher-of-skies_hadfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9c5VNYHSv3oonNF-T2YTfg7aEg_mYwtrkkfHgCE9F0R-jWYvBptsVsipUMP7ZnawLHglhvsR8SrMXizbuRH4Eh1jBZ63qYxIaimQ-q9uOnCHUF_Uez2E6JUFRNt_9FvOWhAv90sDRUkAc/s320/180207_watcher-of-skies_hadfield.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Of course it also helped to win this Canadian over when the first of the lively line drawings done by co-editor Emma Wright was an illustration of Astronaut Chris Hadfield performing the title action for "How to Brush your Teeth in Space" by Sohini Basak (I do hope they sent Commander Hadfield a copy).<br />
<br />
All of this is to say that I highly recommend this book for kids who have even a hint of space or or sci-fi nerd brewing in their souls, or who just love playful poems. I imagine teachers could make wonderful use of it as well. It's listed as being for ages 8+ and I see no reason to disagree. Some of the vocabulary will certainly challenge some 8 year olds, but what better way to encounter new and exciting words than in an out-of-this-world rhyme?<br />
<br />
<i>Full disclosure - The Emma Press has a policy that writers can only submit if they're part of <a href="https://theemmapress.com/the-emma-press-club/" target="_blank">The Emma Press Club</a>, which is made up of anyone who they've previously published OR who has bought a book in the current year. So yes, I ordered this book so that I could submit some writing of my own, but this is a genuine recommendation - in fact this is one of those situations where a rejection won't bother me at all, because I'll still have this fantastic book on my shelf (until my nephew and nieces are old enough to appreciate it, that is.)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
I ordered this <a href="https://theemmapress.com/books/watcher-of-the-skies/" target="_blank">directly from the Emma Press website</a> and I recommend visiting to check out their other collections for kids and adults alike. But if you prefer, at time of writing the book is also available <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Watcher-Skies-Poems-about-Aliens/dp/1910139432/" target="_blank">through Amazon.ca</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Watcher-Skies-Aliens-Childrens-Anthologies/dp/1910139432/" target="_blank">through Amazon.com</a> (but don't use those options if you want to get in The Club - or at least send an email first and find out how that would work).Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-70068470378194892902017-07-02T23:28:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:40:17.290-04:00Suggested Servings of Fruit, Part 2<br />
I just finished eating a bowl of cherries. I can't remember the last time I bought cherries.<br />
<br />
Today's anomaly was 100% because of this:<br />
<br />
<div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CGSzPzAZ4Tc?rel=0?ecver=2" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; width: 100%;" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
I've written before about being <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/2013/08/suggested-servings-of-fruit.html">influenced by children's programming into eating more fruit</a>. Apparently it isn't just kids shows that work on me. Musician and vegan Macka B's "Medical Monday" and "Wha Me Eat Wednesday" videos are currently working as a regular reminder for me that there's a whole world of healthy food out there.<br />
<br />
Like so many people, we discovered Macka B when his video about cucumbers (<i>cucumba!</i>) went viral. If you somehow missed it, treat yourself to it and several others below, then treat yourself to some fruit and/or veggies. Also, you can <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMackaB/" target="_blank">follow Macka B on Faceboook</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 75.0%; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wRGduhbc8IM?rel=0?ecver=2" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; width: 100%;" width="480"></iframe></div>
<br />
Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-29920600098051949922017-04-19T08:21:00.002-04:002020-05-30T22:41:23.628-04:00New Video for The Knight's Errand<br />
Thanks to Brian T. Schultz and the Storybook Land Theatre 2016 company for putting on a fantastic production of The Knight's Errand, hosting me when I came out to South Dakota to see it, and letting me use the footage. :)<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/213416440?portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://vimeo.com/213416440">The Knight's Errand - A Play for Young Audiences</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/marilynannecampbell">Marilyn Anne Campbell</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Learn <a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/p/knight-errand.html">more about The Knight's Errand</a><br />
<br />
(The video is also on YouTube, if you prefer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUGhj8m0cIw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUGhj8m0cIw</a>)<br />
<br />
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-64965635306281007752017-04-08T21:02:00.001-04:002020-05-30T22:42:30.250-04:00TIFF Kids 2017 Feature: "At Eye Level"<br />
Let's cut to the chase - I highly recommend the German film <i>At Eye Level</i> (<i>Auf Augenhöhe</i>) and it's only got one more screening at this year's TIFF Kids; tomorrow (Sunday April 9, 2017) at 3:30 pm.<br />
<br />
Suggested for ages 11-13 by TIFF Kids programmers, it's unfortunate that the marketers who put together the trailer and chose the visual look for its title screen seem to be trying to sell it as some kind of wacky family comedy:<br />
<br />
<div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CHORcDsGChk?rel=0?ecver=2" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; width: 100%;" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
There's humour in it, certainly, but this is a lovely relationship film - not just in terms of the blossoming father and son relationship, but in the way it presents friendship as well. Mostly male friendships, which range from being strained within the confines of a group home for children to being thoughtful and compassionate, though still far from perfect, in the adult world. One of the most beautifully understated arcs is how young Michi (Luis Vorbach) changes how he relates to other kids, including his former roommate Justin (Marco Licht), the more time he spends with Tom (Jordan Prentice). This is one of the most genuine-feeling coming of age films I think I've seen, where the changes in the main character are believable, and gradual, and represent the sum total of what he experiences through the course of the film, rather than a single, sudden moment of revelation at the end.<br />
<br />
The chance of coming across a movie like <i>At Eye Level</i> is exactly why I go to TIFF Kids every year. If it had been made in North America, it probably would have become exactly the kind of movie the trailer wants you to think it is, instead of the mature drama that it is.<br />
<br />
The distraction of Jordan Prentice's English-spoken lines being dubbed into German notwithstanding, this is a wonderful film with an amazing script, great direction, and spot-on performances. It's a little early to say, but I won't be at all surprised if this is one of the award winners at TIFF Kids 2017.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.tiff.net/films/at-eye-level/" target="_blank"><i>At Eye Level</i> screens again at the TIFF Bell Lightbox</a> on:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Sunday April 9, 3:30 pm</li>
</ul>
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-88160955349784040372017-04-08T00:46:00.000-04:002020-05-30T22:43:06.334-04:00TIFF Kids 2017 Feature: "TRIO - The Hunt for the Holy Shrine"<br />
<span style="color: rgb(102 , 102 , 102); font-size: 85%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V61vKyRPlcQ?rel=0?ecver=2" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; width: 100%;" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
<i>TRIO - The Hunt for the Holy Shrine</i> is a high-quality adventure film that owes a lot to Indiana Jones. Recommended by TIFF programmers for ages 10-13, this subtitled Norwegian film follows four friends (I assume they started out as a trio in the Norwegian TV show of the same name, and the team gradually expanded) as they race to solve the mystery of Saint Olav's lost shrine before an internationally-known art thief and her henchmen get there first.<br />
<br />
Like most movies of this type, enjoying <i>The Hunt for the Holy Shrine</i> starts with a healthy suspension of disbelief. The biggest for me was that the tablet owned by Lars the techie is able to do absolutely anything he wants it to do (where do I get the helicopter flying app?). But it's all in good action/adventure fun, and it's worth forgoing realism for the sake of a good teen treasure hunt.<br />
<br />
The production values in this are high, making great use of a variety of locations. From sweeping shots of picturesque fishing villages to an elaborate puzzle-solving sequence inside the Nidaros Cathedral, it's a visually engaging film. The young performers are all strong and they're given just enough personal drama to add a coming-of-age element without bogging down the story.<br />
<br />
Even though the movie is based on previously established characters, the filmmakers are quick in getting the audience up to speed. <i>TRIO - The Hunt for the Holy Shrine</i> is a fun choice for older kids who are fine with subtitles but not looking for anything too heavy. Then at home you can watch <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i> and discuss who did booby-trapped holy object hunts better.<br />
<a href="http://www.tiff.net/films/trio-the-hunt-for-the-holy-shrine/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.tiff.net/films/trio-the-hunt-for-the-holy-shrine/" target="_blank">TRIO screens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox</a> on:<br />
<ul>
<li>Sunday April 9, 2017 at 3:45 pm</li>
<li>Saturday April 15, 2017 at 3:30 pm</li>
</ul>
<br />Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-49080363844995747722017-03-21T00:50:00.001-04:002017-03-21T22:03:40.196-04:00Attending the Storm (working title)by Marilyn Anne Campbell<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvGgR3h_pV4xu7MMBOMaW1eQYro_51et1KRaTrtFxGujfx2dAsCPNUZk_et4Vyp-3ychdILqoIVRxHx1sKoZ6v1KQTLIZty6IBKDCgaS2sIXkTArRiiB823n0-fGlR_26LXRXY6IN4qoK/s1600/pigeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDvGgR3h_pV4xu7MMBOMaW1eQYro_51et1KRaTrtFxGujfx2dAsCPNUZk_et4Vyp-3ychdILqoIVRxHx1sKoZ6v1KQTLIZty6IBKDCgaS2sIXkTArRiiB823n0-fGlR_26LXRXY6IN4qoK/s200/pigeon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<i>Stageplay: Theatre for Young Audiences, 10 minute play, 1M/1W</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
It's 1850 in Mimico, Upper Canada. Eleven-year old Janice needs to memorize a play for school, but her father doesn't agree with her choice of literature. Janice's only other option is to write a poem herself, which seems like an impossible idea until help comes from the skies.</blockquote>
<h4>
A Play in a Day</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<i>Attending the Storm</i> was written for the 2017 "A Day, A Play" writing game hosted annually by <a href="http://writelocalplayglobal.org/" target="_blank">Write Local Play Global</a> to mark the World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People (March 20th). Participants received instructions and elements that had to be included in the morning and had 24 hours to submit what was meant to be a 500 word play. Mine ran a little long (but since there are no winners in this game, they accepted it anyway).<br />
<br />
<h4>
The Pigeons of Mimico</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
The theme for 2017 was "Where do I come from?" which I decided to use as a prompt to set my play close to home. Mimico, for those unfamiliar, is a neighbourhood in South Etobicoke with a name derived from an Ojibwe word meaning "place of the wild pigeons" or "abundant with wild pigeons." I don't actually live within Mimico, but I do love to bird-nerd, so the chance to have the now extinct passenger pigeon feature prominently in a play was too good to pass up. I play pretty fast and loose with history (very little time to research) but the massive flocks of pigeons were real.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU8qJXoqt0sCvfOz_nwaJY8D1362FqzRkKCUWfHc_2LQmIAgy4Jirnyi37vxiMV8t6tdblT8Yj5aP2FlbWAapnFiCKHqE5yFR1PmAw_zfZsi1bGY4gW212AQiBDf_PRXVlCnEx8l_1nSrL/s1600/worldchildrenstheatreday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU8qJXoqt0sCvfOz_nwaJY8D1362FqzRkKCUWfHc_2LQmIAgy4Jirnyi37vxiMV8t6tdblT8Yj5aP2FlbWAapnFiCKHqE5yFR1PmAw_zfZsi1bGY4gW212AQiBDf_PRXVlCnEx8l_1nSrL/s1600/worldchildrenstheatreday.jpg" /></a><b>Read Online:</b> You can read all of <i>Attending the Storm</i> on the 1 Day, 1 Play website: <a href="http://www.1day1play-wlpg.org/attending-the-storm-by-marilyn-anne-campbell/">http://www.1day1play-wlpg.org/attending-the-storm-by-marilyn-anne-campbell/</a><br />
<i><br /></i>
Explore the rest of the site to discover works from playwrights all over the world. You can, for example, <a href="http://www.1day1play-wlpg.org/category/canada/">see the Canadian plays here</a> (and I must say, I'm pretty excited to have my work listed on the same page as Damien Atkins, who is a fantastic actor and writer).<br />
<br />
<b>Status:</b> I may expand this into something more. We shall see.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfKuYz5dzaX5uyjVpYgZRyabEN0dNvq8l9AmxRlyxltgOgevjhrJ7V_J3i3Rga-LBckCoftsnlGPwyFAhvOsKf72iT4rGdK2eE9MS839TmtkRRN71X7iAZaOGjunTWOdxJ4TVKOjM2l6N/s1600/writelocal-playglobal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfKuYz5dzaX5uyjVpYgZRyabEN0dNvq8l9AmxRlyxltgOgevjhrJ7V_J3i3Rga-LBckCoftsnlGPwyFAhvOsKf72iT4rGdK2eE9MS839TmtkRRN71X7iAZaOGjunTWOdxJ4TVKOjM2l6N/s1600/writelocal-playglobal.jpg" /></a></div>
Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-41612166597913254822017-03-11T23:33:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:45:28.988-04:00"Model Citizen" on Wattpad<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQxT4mBPiB5lbphwjUQFsUNc3sWWxGMRoeV_a5ipamKVQNt_-hW9kYzQMcTM1swhghx1cM-OH7O76RVFlFxQaDmJHAN5b2C2yZrovCFI_7SKH1CU5cjGx5_ETHfli4U-XLyq_2ZSs_lMN/s1600/model-citizen-cover_download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQxT4mBPiB5lbphwjUQFsUNc3sWWxGMRoeV_a5ipamKVQNt_-hW9kYzQMcTM1swhghx1cM-OH7O76RVFlFxQaDmJHAN5b2C2yZrovCFI_7SKH1CU5cjGx5_ETHfli4U-XLyq_2ZSs_lMN/s320/model-citizen-cover_download.jpg" width="204" /><i> </i></a></div>
It's been a long time since I've used <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/user/MarilynAnneCampbell" target="_blank">my Wattpad account</a>, but I recently rediscovered this social site dedicated to the sharing of original writing. It felt sort of strange to just be skulking around reading though, so I uploaded my odd little short story <i><a href="http://www.marilynannecampbell.com/2013/11/model-citizen.html">Model Citizen</a></i> to the site.<br />
<br />
<i>Model Citizen</i> was published in the first issue of the YA speculative fiction lit mag Inaccurate Realities back in 2013, but if you missed out on reading it then you can now check it out in its entirety online:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.wattpad.com/story/102012625-model-citizen-complete" target="_blank">Read Model Citizen on Wattpad</a><br />
<br />
Of course most of what's posted to Wattpad are unpublished works-in-progress, as the site has a heavy emphasis on getting feedback and developing as a writer. I have been thinking about uploading one of my Nanowrimo novels that's just sitting around collecting digital dust, but I'd definitely want to spend a little longer re-familiarizing myself with the site before I decide whether or not to do that.<br />
<br />
Are you on Wattpad? What sort of work do you share? Have any good suggestions of stories to read or writers to follow?<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: rgb(102 , 102 , 102); font-size: 85%;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/107567966569260655879/"></a></span>
Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6670935301313488942.post-73019820280676152142017-02-27T23:52:00.000-05:002020-05-30T22:46:52.222-04:00Urban Maple Syrup Harvesting at the Humber Arboretum<br />
<span style="font-size: 13.6px;">So, this is what I've been up to lately. Working at the <a href="http://www.humberarboretum.on.ca/">Humber Arboretum</a> as a Communications Assistant, which includes such onerous tasks are running around the woods learning about maple syrup harvesting while making this video: </span><br />
<span style="color: rgb(102 , 102 , 102); font-size: 85%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="height: 0; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KVxLSvjq_is?rel=0?ecver=2" style="height: 100%; left: 0; position: absolute; width: 100%;" width="640"></iframe></div>
<br />
My favourite part of this was that I smelled like wood smoke for the rest of the day. I think it's an important thing, to smell like wood smoke every so often.<br />
<br />
Marilynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577252936639636125noreply@blogger.com0